Tea with the Queen

A lot of business owners feel icky around the whole concept of hustling. They shouldn’t – it’s a must in business. You can’t shy away from doing the hard yards to get more sales. Afterall, the work you do today will pay off in the future. Just remember to give yourself permission to take a break once in a while, so that you don’t fall in an exhausted heap! That’s the double-headed advice you’ll ge...

Do you set goals? Goal-setting is great, but it it’s all for nought if you don’t keep looking back at it and seeing if you’re on track. And don’t just do goal-setting for the sake of it, do it in a smart way, says Emma McQueen. Be crystal clear on your goals, and be flexible and realistic. If your goals are specific, you can then detail exactly what you need to do to achieve those goals.  Join Emm...

It’s true that the most important asset in any business is its people. And, so, you want to make sure that you get your people stuff right. One of the biggest people issues is a lack of alignment, according to Emma’s guest today, Julia O’Reilly, Director of People & Growth Consulting. She says there could be misalignment between two people or between managers and staff. Whatever it is, she say...

Do you find yourself scrambling at the end of the year to tick everything off your to-do list, just so you can go on break hoping the decks are clear for another onslaught of work when the new year comes around? It doesn’t have to be that way. Now could be the perfect time to plan everything, including all those breaks that you should prioritise to ensure you’re looking after your own wellbeing. E...

With an Italian background, food and quality are terribly important to Michelle Bailey. And that focus on quality is the bedrock to her business Graze with Michelle , Melbourne’s premier grazing table, platter and grazing boxes service. She provides quality meats, cheeses, crackers and other goodies that not only taste great but look sensational. It isn’t all about the food of course. She shares h...

No one sets out to be rejected. Or do they? Emma McQueen has a strategy that does just that. Selling is a numbers game. If you know that a successful sale includes a number of rejections, then the more rejections will ultimately lead to more sales. It’s simple maths, and it eliminates the emotion we attach to rejection. Emma outlines how this strategy takes the ickiness out of sales. Join Emma’s G...

It all starts with a plan, then comes a dash of stability, a sprinkling of a strategy, all mixed in with the right mindset. According to Andrea Pearce, they’re the ingredients of running a successful business. Andrea is founder of Dream Accounting & Business Advisory. She’s also known as the ‘Extroverted Accountant’, and you’ll find out why from her first words. Andrea and Emma draw up busines...

The world needs more people like Di Geddes. She’s the founder and director of Exceptional Care For You, a much-needed in-home disability and aged-care service. A lot of companies write down a list of values, which they put in a drawer and forget about. But Di and her team live and breathe their values every single day, which are: compassion, commitment, excellence, tolerance and teamwork. Her busi...

Most of us in business want to grow. The question is by how much? What’s the yard-stick? How do you measure growth and what should you aim at? Those are the questions lawyer Tracey Mylecharane asks Emma McQueen in this episode of Queen’s Counsel. And, there’s lot of conjecture about scaling up – what does that mean exactly and is that something you should aim for? Tracey Mylecharane  https://tmsol...

By its very nature, construction uses a lot of materials. Interior designer Angela Spillane is hyper aware of the sustainability of those materials when she’s creating award-winning interiors. Angela is founder of Brisbane-based Studiospillane, which has completed some wonderfully impressive spaces, including Vici Italian on Southbank and Tattersall’s Conservatory. She explains to Emma what sets h...

Have you ever thought of writing a book but haven’t done so yet? Don’t put it off any longer – just give it a go! Everyone has a story buried inside them waiting to be told. If you’re in business, a book not only builds your credibility in the market, it can make a real difference to winning business. Emma chats with Susan Dean, Founder of Dean Publishing, about the book industry and what the proc...

Anyone in business knows that growth is not linear. Sales don’t stick to an incremental path, and the activities you do to generate growth, likewise, aren’t the same. It’s hard sometimes to hustle for sales, while you're also trying deliver on orders or service from previous sales. In this episode of Queen’s Counsel, Emma McQueen and Tracey Mylecharane recognise the importance of implementing proc...

Is there anything that Nikki Ellis can’t do? For one, she was once a lecturer at university, giving evidence-based training to future personal trainers. She’s spoken in front of crowds both in Australia and overseas, including BOLD Mindbody Conference in San Diego. She’s a business owner – her gym is called Cinch, and it’s been nominated a few times for the Telstra Business Women’s Award. On top o...

Single mum Cinzia Cozzolino came up with a brilliant idea. She packed her daughter’s lunch with a healthy smoothie – it was quick, simple and nutritious. It was also the genesis to her business The Smoothie Bombs, which has exploded in popularity both in Australia around the world. The product found itself on the shelves of Macy’s, one the of the biggest department store chains in the USA. Cinzia...

Whether or not a recession is on the cards this year or any time, it’s important to have a strategy to stay on top of cashflow. A lot of businesses are struggling with high inflation, supply issues, soaring interest rates, energy costs, and so on. Emma McQueen suggests having a forensic look at your own outgoings: are you spending too much on some things?  Also, she has suggestions with cashflow,...

Words have immense power. They have the power to inspire, persuade and evoke, and even change the course of history. That’s according to Claire Dowler, an author, journalist, and copywriter who helps businesses make a bigger impact with their own printed words. She chats with host Emma McQueen about written copy in business, and also the potential consequences ChatGPT has on the way we communicate...

If you run a business, how well do you understand your finances. It doesn’t mean you spend all your time on doing everything related to finances yourself. That’s where engaging a bookkeeper makes sense. Because, you don’t want to get your taxes wrong, and you don’t ever want to be caught short of money each month.  Bookkeeper and a qualified accountant Lisa Turner helps female business owners get...

Queen’s Counsel is a new segment on Tea with the Queen. As the title suggests, you get to hear the wise counsel of business coach and entrepreneur, Emma McQueen. Emma has a lot of wisdom to share, about growing a business and finding value in yourself; she also has a lot of practical advice and inspiration to help you on your own journey.  On this episode, Emma’s joined by Tracey Mylecharane, a la...

Are you prioritising your activities to generate more income? It seems crazy to Deanna Notice that some business owners don’t take their own sales calls – they leave it for someone else to do. As a business owner herself, Deanna knows that you have the most impact on the growth of your business when you stay close to income-generating tasks. Deanna is founder of Notice & Co., which builds mark...

Belinda Eden almost had a break down. She and her husband had just refinanced their home to help Belinda pursue her dream of running her brand-new hospitality business. And then the pandemic hit. She was doing all she could to support her family, and waiting for things to subside. It wasn’t easy. In fact, it was horrible. Things did eventually open up, and almost overnight the light down the dark...

Our skin is a reflection of our internal stability and health, and for years Jemima Richards has guided people in the right direction to better skin. Her business is Soap, Skin & Candle, an online store of bath soaps, crystals, teas, candles and a wide range of other products for your skin and senses. She shares with Emma McQueen some of her tips on running an e-commerce business, and also som...

How is your relationship with money? If you never learned much about handling money in school or at home, you’re not alone. Denise Duffield Thomas is the money mentor who helps entrepreneurs release their fear of money and charge premium prices. She’s written several books, including “Lucky Bitch” and “Get Rich, Lucky Bitch!”. Her latest is “Chill & Prosper – the new way to grow your business,...

Turia Pitt has been through the most extraordinary life-changing experience. In 2011, she was in the rugged Kimberley ranges of north-west WA competing in a 100km ultramarathon, when suddenly she was confronted with a bushfire. She had nowhere to go as the flames caught up with her. She suffered burns to 65 percent of her body. Turia spent six months in hospital, had 200 operations and two years i...

Jo Stanley has packed so much into her career, and she ain’t done yet! For 10 years, Jo was one half of the most-listened-to breakfast radio show in Melbourne, The Matt & Jo Show on Fox FM. She’s host of The House of Wellness, she’s authored children’s books, and recently she founded Broad Radio, a radio station for women, by women. Broad Radio – https://broadradio.com.au/   Emma McQueen – htt...

Get ready to be inspired! Kaley Chu made it her mission to have lunch with 100 perfect strangers in one year. She did it to put herself out there, build her confidence and in the process develop really strong and meaningful connections with all sorts of people. She wrote a book about it – it’s called ‘100 lunches with strangers: a simple way to step out of your comfort zone and transform your life...